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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Chapter 2 Page 270 - TR 93 11 miles or bust

First - a HUGE welcome back to "C". Seriously - I missed you!!! 10 miles, last week, was sooooo lonely. And Saturday, at the race, she texted me to pretend it was 80 degrees and sunny (it so WAS NOT 80 and sunny).

I mapped out an 11.11 mile run for us in our small town. Show of hands who lives in a small town?

I ask because other small towners out there will understand this - 11 miles in a small town is completely and totally running the entire town . . . twice! From the furthest point north to the furthest point south - our town is only like 6 miles. So . . .creating long runs that don't require a lot of BORING country roads (no offense to my rural friends like Susie @ Weighing In . . . .nothin' but love) is a HUGE challenge. Now, before you all suggest that we don't just run straight - WE.DON'T. We do a loop of sorts so we get a fair share of scenery change, I'm just saying that small downs don't offer much in the way of variety of possible long run routes.

"C" and I met up and we started off with a 3 minute walk so that we could get across the bring and not get taken out by the traffic then we began 2:2. Now, because I had my good "don't even think about quitting" training partner with me - this 11.16 mile run featured ONE THING-constant 2:2 . . . there was no walking through an interval, there were no "sitting on the rock" moments, there were no breaks of any kind. It was 2:54.03 of constant 2:2s. Now, for all of you reading that very slow time - I know it's pretty disappoitingly slow; however, WE.DID.THAT. That's our LONGEST run since we ran the Women's Half Marathon last November. Tonight's run was a challenge - we are super sore (feet, calves, quads, and hams - pretty much everything feels like I just walked to California. But . . . I am very proud of the accomplishment - thanks "C" for the constant pushing me to do it and encouragement. Thanks for slowing down when I needed it. And most of all -thanks for being at my side. Way more fun WITH you than WITHOUT you. I definitely wouldn't be a half marathoner if I didn't have her every step of the way (or at least most of the steps).

So cross of the 11 miler on this training cycle. Next week is a step down week of 7 miles -do you know how easy 7 will feel after the 9, 10, 11 milers the last 3 weeks? Ohhh yeah! BRING IT! We have long runs of 12, 13, and 14 (and a couple more 10's before our half) - but we won't focus on those right now. Right now, I have ice packs on both knees, my night splint on my foot, and an ice pack on my lower back. And tomorrow - tomorrow MGA will be giving me a HOT ROCK massage. OH YEAH!!!!

Quick shout out to Holly @ Rustbeltrunner and Kimberly at HealthyStrides who invited "C" and I to join them to watch the My Run tonight. Sorry girls we weren't able to join you, but we thought about you a lot and hope you had a GREAT time!!!! Next time - okay?!?!

p.s. after my shower (ahhhh, Calgon take me away - I know, I know - ice baths are better for me - yikes!), I noticed that I had 2 blisters (one on the side of my toe, and the one popped that popped on the bottom of my toe - sorry for the sexy foot photo). So glad to be experiencing blisters once again!!!!

For those who are interested, HERE is the link to our first 10 mile run last August . . . oh how far we've come since.

5 comments:

WOW! Nice blog page! I wasn't expecting a beautiful flower when I clicked on your blog. It reminds me of the paradise of Marco Island I experienced last week. I love it! I am SO PROUD of you! We did it! Our first 11 miler which included hills. I so enjoyed catching up on the latest news with you. I can't believe that you have blisters. That really stinks. Hopefully you'll be able to get them in control before we run our 12 miler. Thanks again for setting me up with YGA. I can't wait until tomorrow and the hot rock massage. Go Us!!!

@ Holly - it's true!!!! I've come a long way. Funny you say that because I was going to email you to figure out how to make the header photo go all the way across the screen. At first, I tried it and it was like gigantic and took forever to scroll down past in order to get to the actual posts - now it's a small thing. Welcome any guidance. Missed you and Kimberly - can't wait to hear all about the movie.

@Kimberly - Yeah, I'll never miss these crazy distances. Though, I guess it makes me much more thankful and appreciative of the shorter distances.

I live in a large metropolitan area now, but I grew up in a house five miles outside a town of about 8,000 people. When I visit my parents, I have a particular neighborhood run that I like to do. I like the changes in scenery.

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I completed a 10K training program in September 2009 and fell in love with racing. I entered 6 races (2 10Ks, 3 5 Ks, and a 5.3 M) September - November 2009. I completed 13 races in 2010 including my first and second half marathons. Participating in races has changed my life! See you at the next starting line!